I just read another article
about an 11-year-old Afghan
girl that has been sold and
married to a 40-year-old man.
This really makes me sick.
I wonder: What is the position
of the feminists in this world
towards this issue? Do we just
say "That's the way they
are, that's legal in their
country, so what?" I am
pretty new to being politically
interested and am really worried
about where tolerance ends
and the fight for human rights
starts.

I think that feminists are
very outraged by marriages
like the one you describe and
even more so the circumstances
that allow people to think
that's okay or normal. For
instance, the reason girls
are sold into marriage is often
because the family needs money — and
so it's not only an issue of
sexism, but also of elitism
and pitting one family against
another. And also the society
that makes this experience
sound normal, when there is
nothing normal about a 12-year-old
marrying a 40-year-old. I think
that people justify their lack
of action on not wanting to
intrude on other cultures,
but that fact is — when
it comes to something this — other
cultures think that's absurd,
too.

Feminist organizations
such as Equality
Now and Feminist
Majority Foundation and the
International
Women's Health Coalition, etc. are working
on issues like child marriage.
I think that you should research
those groups and see what they
suggest you can do to get more
involved. Also, you can probably
reach out to groups in Afghanistan
and other countries where things
like this happen. I think the
more local you can get, the
better it is to understand
what to do. Thanks for your
passion.